Switchball (PSN Review)

Another quality addition hits the PSN called Switchball, which is a 3D puzzle game with fantastic visual effects and great fun for the family. Later levels require a bit of skill but I can guarantee you this will get the family hooked. Every level begins with a gleaming ball arriving on a Da Vinci style flying machine and following through a maze.

On the path of the maze you’ll encounter varied challenges from turning off fans with a box moved onto a switch to rolling across planks with excellent use of physics. Switchball utilizes physics very well on objects such as a floating cloth and boxes used as paths.

In total there are 30 levels that can be played at your own leisure or timed and recorded onto a leaderboard. Gameplay is mixed up with different power ups for the ball such as magnetic, bouncing and steel abilities which keep levels feeling fresh.

Each power up has its own implications for example the steel ball power up makes the ball heavy and will tear through a floating cloth. There’s a lot of strategy involved in this game, you have to make sure you have to right ball to progress through certain stages of a level.

Playing the last few levels I felt as though the checkpoints could have come a little bit sooner. In terms of difficulty later levels have obstacles in your path which will annoy you at times.

It might be a fan, a magnet or rotating blade to name a few. The games also got sixaxis support, which makes things a whole lot difficult at first. It takes times to get yourself acquainted with the controls but it’s great for players who are a little more than a casual gamer.

The only problem I encountered was the quirky camera which led to my downfall in certain levels. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to play multiplayer modes co-op online or race, as there was nobody playing the game online at all.

Other than that the game is brilliant, with multiple levels that are varied between day and night. With enough puzzles and power ups to keep you busy and content.

8.5/10